Easy Chocolate Snowball Cookies Recipe for Cozy Holiday Baking

Soft, fudgy chocolate snowball cookies with a deep cocoa flavor and mini chocolate chips folded into every bite, rolled thick in powdered sugar so they look like little snowballs. Ready in under 40 minutes, makes 24 cookies, and the dough needs no fancy mixer.

These are the cookie I make when I want something chocolatey but dont want to deal with a complicated recipe. One bowl, one spoon, and a pile of powdered sugar at the end. My kids call them snow cookies and ask for them the second the weather turns cold.

Theyre also one of those chocolate snowball cookies that look way fancier than they actually are. Roll them in sugar twice and they come out of the oven looking like they belong on a holiday cookie tray at a bakery, not from your own kitchen.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Deep, fudgy chocolate flavor with mini chocolate chips in every bite
• One bowl, no mixer required
• No chilling needed, so they are ready fast
• Rolled twice in powdered sugar for that classic snowball look
• Freezer-friendly, so you can make a double batch ahead of the holidays
• A cute, giftable cookie for holiday trays and cookie exchanges

Ingredients

• 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, softened, not melted or warm, see note below
• 2/3 cup (80g) powdered sugar, plus more for rolling
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (43g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup (170g) mini chocolate chips

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Butter temperature matters more than anything else here. Soft, cool-room-temperature butter holds the dough together. Butter that has gone soupy or warm makes the cookies spread thin and flat instead of staying round.
• Regular-size chocolate chips work if that is what you have, but mini chips distribute more evenly through the small dough balls so you get chocolate in every bite instead of one chip per cookie.
• Dutch-process cocoa gives a slightly darker, more mellow flavor than natural cocoa powder, either works fine in this recipe.

Step 1: Cream the Butter and Sugar

Beat the softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. The mixture should look pale and smooth, not greasy or separated, if it looks greasy, the butter was too warm.

Step 2: Whisk the Dry Ingredients

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt until no cocoa streaks remain. Whisking the cocoa in separately keeps it from clumping once it hits the wet ingredients.

Step 3: Combine

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix on low just until a soft dough forms. Stop as soon as the flour disappears, overmixing here is what makes chocolate cookies turn out tough instead of tender.

Step 4: Fold in the Chocolate Chips

Fold in the mini chocolate chips by hand with a spatula so they stay whole and do not melt into the dough from mixer heat.

Step 5: Roll into Balls

Scoop and roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. The dough will feel soft but should hold its shape when rolled, if it is sticking to your hands, that is another sign the butter was too warm; pop the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes before rolling.

Step 6: Bake

Bake at 350F for 9 to 11 minutes, until the cookies look set around the edges but still soft in the center. Because the dough is already dark from the cocoa, you cannot rely on color the way you would with a regular sugar cookie, judge by touch and time instead. Pull them right at 9 to 10 minutes for a fudgier middle.

Step 7: Cool Slightly

Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 2 to 3 minutes. They need a minute to firm up or they will fall apart when you try to roll them, but they also need to still be warm for the next step.

Step 8: Roll in Powdered Sugar Twice

Roll each cookie in powdered sugar while it is still warm, then let them cool completely and roll a second time. The first roll while warm is what makes the sugar stick and melt slightly into a white coating instead of just dusting the top. Skipping the warm roll is the most common reason the sugar does not stay on.

Tips for the Best Results

• Measure your flour by spooning it into the cup and leveling it off, scooping straight from the bag packs in extra flour and dries the dough out.
• If your cookies spread flat, the butter was too warm going in. Chill the dough balls for 10 minutes next time before baking.
• Line your pan with parchment, not a bare baking sheet, the dark dough can make it hard to tell when the bottoms are overbaking.

Variations and Add-ins

• Swap half the mini chocolate chips for chopped walnuts or pecans for a crunchier bite.
• A dairy-free version works by using a plant-based butter stick (not spreadable tub butter) and dairy-free mini chips, the texture stays close to the original.
• Add 1/4 tsp espresso powder to the dry ingredients to deepen the chocolate flavor without tasting like coffee.

What to Serve With It

• A glass of cold milk or hot cocoa
• Alongside Almond Snowball Cookies for a holiday cookie tray with variety
• Packed into a gift box with Cherry Snowball Cookies for a festive mix

Make These Chocolate Snowball Cookies for Your Next Cookie Tray

These come together fast enough for a weeknight but look special enough for a holiday party, which is exactly the kind of cookie worth keeping on repeat. Double the batch and freeze half the dough balls unbaked, bake them straight from frozen, just add a minute or two to the time.

If you give these a try, I would love it if you left a star rating and a comment below, it helps other readers know what to expect and makes my day every time.

For more holiday cookie recipes you will love:

• Almond Snowball Cookies
• Cherry Snowball Cookies